DRM in your coffee? The infection spreads

March 4, 2014 | 9:15 am

Here’s an interesting twist on the whole ‘DRM is evil’ debate: Keurig, makers of a popular coffee maker brand, is considering implementing DRM into its next model which will block users from purchasing refills from the secondary market. As this Techdirt article explains:

“As with computer printers, getting the device in the home is simply a gateway to where the real money is: refills. But Keurig has faced the ‘problem’ in recent years of third-party pod refills that often retail for 5-25% less than what Keurig charges. ”

I’m not sure how effective this will be. The Beloved is more into the K-cup thing than I am—I enjoy the occasional mug of hot chocolate, but could live without it. But even he is more a fan of the coffee than the maker. If he could not get the brands he prefers—irrespective of whether Keurig ‘approves’ them or not—his next coffee machine will be whomever can deliver him his preferred product.

I did the same thing with books, come to think of it. When the DRM restrictions started to become onerous for me, I simply read something else. I suspect Keurig—like many other ‘creators’ of various industries we’ve seen go down this road—is vastly over-estimating their own importance to the market here.